Phylicia Rashad Defends TV Husband Bill Cosby

Phylicia Rashad, the matriarch of the legendary Cosby Show, is speaking out for the first time in defense of her TV husband.

"Forget those women. What you're seeing is the destruction of a legacy and I think it's orchestrated," she tells the website showbiz411.com.

The actress who played Bill Cosby's wife, Clair Huxtable says the numerous sexual assault allegations aimed at Bill Cosby, which he has denied, are an effort to destroy his legacy.

"I don't know why or who's doing it, but it's the legacy. And it's a legacy that is so important to the culture," said Rashad.

Today, attorney Gloria Allred appeared at a press conference with three Cosby accusers and had this reaction to Phylicia Rashad, saying, "Phylicia, if anyone did to you, to your daughter, to your sister, or to your mother what Cosby is alleged to have done to these women, I have no doubt that you would not be saying quote, 'Foget these women.' "